7 Surprising Things People Have Done When Trying To Get Pregnant, According To OB/GYNs

You know that magical movie myth? The one where a couple stumbles home from a dinner date and has graceful, weightless sex against a wall, and then wakes up to discover that they're suddenly pregnant? When you grow up watching a lot of romantic comedies, reading one too many realistic fiction novels, it can seem that that's how babies come into the world. But the truth is: conception can be incredibly difficult, and couples who are left wondering how to get pregnant quickly might go to extreme lengths in order to conceive.

According to a recent study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.1% of women between the age of 15 to 44 struggled with impaired fecundity, meaning having trouble conceiving or carrying, or fertility issues. This means millions of women have to work hard, and in some cases, spend a lot of money in order to get pregnant — totally debunking the idea that it always happens spontaneously. However, there are plenty of wacky tips out of there, that aren't exactly factually accurate, to help women conceive, from eating more oranges to lying in certain unexpected positions. Here are a few surprising methods that women have tried in order to get pregnant, according to their OBG/YN or medical specialist.

1Getting Caught With The Goods

"One lady I cared for was undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) [a fertility treatment that involes putting sperm inside the uterus to help fertilization]," OB/GYN physician & Co-host of The V Word podcast, Dr. Jennifer Conti, tells Bustle. "She had to transport her partner's sperm from one clinic to another. The sperm has to be kept warm, so she placed it in her bra to keep it near her body heat, but then on the way between clinics, got pulled over by police for speeding, and asked the cop to hurry it up because she was wearing sperm that she needed to get into her uterus STAT!" Sounds like a scene from a Kristen Wiig movie!

2Turning The World Upside Down

"Another woman once told me that she had sex upside down," Dr. Conti says. "She had her hands down, she shot her legs way up, and had to remain straddling her standing partner for the entirety of intercourse. So that way, the semen would stay inside of her." This sounds like the Olympic gymnastics of insemination. Her flexibility and undeniable core strength is both shocking and impressive.

3Acing The Semen Exam

"One woman told me she had her partner undergo monthly semen analyses," Dr. Conti says. "He had to take this test after every month that went by without them getting pregnant. By four months of trying to conceive, which by the way, is a totally normal and acceptable amount of time, he had already undergone four (again, perfectly normal) tests." Getting pregnant isn't really like a midterm that you absolutely have to ace — but hey, whatever works!

4Swinging Sex On Your Lunch Break

"A couple that came to see me explained that for the last year, the woman had been peeing on ovulation test strips to figure out her exact hour of ovulation," Holistic Fertility Specialist, Dr. Aumatma tells Bustle. "She would sometimes go through several strips in a day to time it just right — and then, call her husband to come home (even in the middle of a work day) to have sex just to get the perfect timing. Needless to say, she never orgasmed, and he never really enjoyed it — so when they came to get my help, I suggested they throw the whole timed sex thing out of the window and instead work on optimizing their health, reconnecting with each other, and start enjoying sex again."

5Chugging Pomegranate Juice

"A woman once told me that in her culture, pomegranate is thought of as helping fertility," Dr. Aumatma says. "So she was drinking 32 oz of pomegranate juice every single day. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked for her." Wow pomegranate juice, who knew? Sounds like a truly sticky situation.

6Trying All The Herbal Remedies

"I'm a Holistic Fertility Doctor, so I believe in taking medicinal herbs when appropriate," Dr. Aumatma says. "But, every woman that walks into my office is taking maca and/or vitex. These two herbs have hit the mainstream fertility world — and sadly, they are not the magic bullet women hope they will be. My suggestion is to talk to an expert before spending hundreds of dollars on herbs that may or may not work for you." While herbs may seem like the most natural fertility remedy, different methods work for different people. So be sure to talk to your doctor about what will work best for you.

7Asking A Psychic For Baby Bump Predictions

"One woman I met a while ago after speaking at a conference said she had seen a psychic for her fertility," Dr. Aumatma says. "The psychic had promised her that she would get pregnant last year. I proceeded to ask her if she had done anything else for her fertility and she said no, she was still waiting for the psychic to be right. Seemed pretty interesting to me that she just put all of her faith in the psychic, especially when the deadline had passed ... she got upset when I suggested that maybe the psychic was right that she would get pregnant, but maybe she was going to need some support in the process to make it happen!" Next time, try a magic 8 ball instead?

These stories definitely prove not to mess with a woman's determination when she's on a mission. But while you might giggle at these anecdotes, remember that fertility is no joke: so many women really struggle to get pregnant with their partner, and truly see the opportunity as a gift and a privilege, not a given. If you are struggling with fertility while trying to conceive, speaking with your OB/GYN about which methods work, and which don't, is the best way to help with family planning.